What Am I Doing?
by TheChriZ1995
Summary: We all know and love this movie well but there's one part that I think needed more detail, and that's the time when Kate and Humphrey get home. This story goes over Humphrey's POV in great detail over the time between getting home and the end of the movie. R&R [Short Story]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Not sure where I found writing inspiration again but I've been thinking about how to write the following story for over a week now. Now let's see how rusty I am.**

**Just a recap this story covers in more detail from the very night when Kate and Humphrey get home up until the end of the movie.****Enjoy, ChriZ~**

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_Humphrey's POV_

"We're going to unite the packs..."

Her words echoed through my head as I watched her turn and walk away along side the rest of the pack who were all happy that a war was avoided. I, on the other hand was in a state of disbelief, 'How could she not tell me about all these things? How could she not tell me she was getting married?' My thoughts were interrupted when my friends walked up beside me.

"Welcome back Humphrey", "Good job bringing her home" I heard them say before they all picked me up and chanted "Wolf Pile!"

Normally I would be laughing and smiling along with them as they piled on top of me for a short while, but not now. My mind was clouded with so many emotions, I got up on my feet and looked back at the pack that was now exiting the valley and heading back to their dens for the night. Still cheering and talking amongst each other like nothing ever separated them. I sat and hung my head low 'I wish she would of told me the real reason of why she needed to get home'.

"Hey Humphrey you okay?" I looked up and saw my friends looking at me with concern. "Yeah I'm fine, come on, we should get back to our dens too" I said before getting up. They followed as I began walking up the slope back to the western dens, it was silent between us most of the way there until Salty decided to break the silence. "So where we're you two taken to?" He asked

I really wasn't in the mood to think about the trip I just got back from but I didn't want to be rude to my friends either. They didn't need to feel what I was feeling at the moment "We were taken to Idaho to help control the caribou population since there are plenty of them down there." I didn't want to tell them the real reason we were taken there since I knew what other questions they would have been asked. "Wow it would be nice if it was like that here too" Shakey said

"Yeah it would..." I said plainly, once again it fell silent between us but luckily we were just arriving into the den area "Well goodnight guys, I'll tell you more about the trip tomorrow if you want" I said facing them trying not to sound in a upset mood "That sounds great man" Salty said "Yeah, it's great to have you back safely" Shakey said

We all turned our separate ways and headed back to our own dens, It was nights like this that I like living far from the rest of the other pack dens. Not because I wasn't in the mood to be around other wolves but I knew I couldn't hold my sadness in any longer. So being far meant no one could hear me, and it's not like I can just tell others why I'm feeling down since it was against the law to be with an Alpha as an Omega. The moon was at its highest when I arrived to my den, the small opening under an old tree stump was all you could see in the dim light. I walked inside and immediately laid down at the back of the den and faced the wall.

'Well... Sure seems like things took an abrupt turn, going form thinking Kate had the same feelings for me that I had for her. To having it all seem like just a dream, but it wasn't, we only howled many hours ago and yet it seems much further then that.' It didn't take long until I felt my eyes tear up, tears of sadness, heartbreak and regret. I didn't like feeling like this, I wish things could be much more better then they are right now, I should have told her how I felt on the train. But I just couldn't come out with the three simple words and she ended up jumping off and leaving me to stop the war that was about to happen. We could of ran off together or just tell the pack how we felt law or not, yet what would running off accomplish since the packs would have gone to war had not Kate returned to stop it.

A new thought came to my head, 'What if I just runaway?' Sure it seemed like a bad plan considering I was and Omega with no hunting skills to speak off, but come on? How hard can it be to catch a meal for myself? But I just didn't have to know how to hunt though either, to become a lone wolf I needed to protect myself, which I don't know how to. But that was a risk I was willing to take since I couldn't just sit and watch the love of my life get married to another wolf besides me. It would just make me upset staying in the pack and seeing it.

I still laid facing the back wall of my den thinking, thinking of what course should I take in this new phase of my life as a lone wolf. I then remembered the old pack I originally came from as a pup, maybe my parents were still apart of it since I got taken away from it and dumped in the forest as a pup. And if so I could live with them and just forget about Kate and move on

But just forgetting about her will be the hardest of all, she's the wolf I thought about everyday since I got to know her as a pup. Yet I would just have to manage, I didn't need to live the rest in my life with regret and sorrow over a love that was not meant to be. It feels like I have been laying in here for hours and I decided it would be best and try to get more sleep before the sun comes back up, I had a long hard day ahead of me.

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I opened my eyes to find that the sun already came up and by the looks, it was already mid morning. After considering the events of last night I expected to get little to no sleep but I actually got the opposite. I felt refreshed but still held the sorrow inside me and knew I had to go around and tell my friends AND Kate about my choice of becoming a lone wolf. Saying goodbye to Salty, Shakey and Mooch will be hard enough but confronting Kate and telling her would be a real challenge without tearing up.

I got up on my paws and let out yawn as I stretched my legs. My stomach let out a growl, the last thing I had eaten was over a day ago somewhere on the way home. I walked slowly out my den and looked around, it was a beautiful spring day outside and I could see some of the pack laying around and talking or just taking a day nap in the sun. I made my way to the feeding grounds to get myself a late breakfast of whatever's left of the food. Along the way a few wolves I passed said either "Welcome back Humphrey" or "Nice to see you made it home safely". I just put on the best smile I could and said "Thank you". Once I made it to the feeding grounds near the Leaders den I found that a few other wolves were still having their share of the food. Most of them were Omegas since the Alphas already had their share first. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief 'Good I don't think I can handle seeing Kate right now', I never imagined thinking like that about her but it was true, I would just end up crying on the spot asking "Why?" if she spoke to me.

I came up the pile of food and grabbed myself a squirrel before finding a spot under a near by tree alone. I took a few bites and it felt good to get some real food back in my system again, on our trip home Kate and I had a hard time finding any food to eat in the forest along the way. I was around half way through my meal before I heard a wolf walk up behind me, I turned and found it was Winston.

"Hello Humphrey, mind if a join you?" He asked "Not at all sir, please sit" I said watching as he sat down in front of me. I had no idea what we wanted to speak to me about, was I in trouble? Or was it something else, "I just wanted to say thank you, for bringing Kate home safely." He said

"Your welcome sir, but really she was the one who made the choices not me." I said. I didn't want to take all the credit for it, after all she was the one who wanted to get back right away not me. But I did accompany her so that was better then doing it on her own. "I'm sure she did since she has great responsibility, but she did tell me that you helped her escape death twice." He said, He was referring to the flash flood and the bears.

"Your right, I did" I said before finishing my meal, "Well, I'm sure you got some things to take care of, I'll see you around" He said getting up. "Oh almost forgot, Kate's in our den getting ready for the wedding and she said she wanted to talk to you before it." "Will do sir" I said as he walked away leaving me alone once again. He was right though I need to tell Salty Shakey and Mooch about my choice, I hope this will go over well.

I got up and started walking, thinking of where they might be, it was almost mid day so they were most likely out playing some game. I decided to try my luck looking for them down in the valley and much to my surprise I found them sitting on a rock talking in the sun. I walked up to them and they all smiled at me, "Morning Humphrey, I see that you found us" Mooch said "Yeah didn't take that long to either" I said sitting beside them "Well we were just talking about random gossip but if you want to tell us about your trip you can" Salty said. 'Hmm maybe this won't be so hard' I thought, I can just tell them the story and just feed in the lone wolf decision to make it seem not so out of the blue to them. "Sure why not, I got nothing better to do" I said

"Great" They said, "Okay well to start off, Kate and I were talking during the moonlight howl after she ditched Garth and we ended up getting shot with some type or dart that knocked us out. Next thing we knew we awoke in small boxes in some place called Idaho, we got released and met these two birds playing some game they called golf." They all shot me weird looks, probably cause of the fact we talked to birds. "Anyway, they told us where we were and why we got sent there and asked them if they knew where Jasper was. Luckily enough they did know where it was and showed us the way home. Our actual trip home started with a ride in the back of a truck of which we snuck into, I ended up making us lose our ride and had to continue on paw. Once again our bird friends told us of a train that runs directly to Jasper so we made our way through the mountains fighting off bears along the way and just barely made it onto the train via log sled."

"Wow that's one crazy adventure" Shakey said "Yeah Bears don't sound to fun to be around" Mooch said  
"Defiantly, we just made it out with out lives" I said "So they rest of the trip was just us sitting in a box car watching the scenery go by, but I did manage to share a howl with Kate at the moon. And eventually we made it to Jasper that same night, we jumped off the train and here I am back safe and sound." I did say the last part kind of fast since I wasn't sure telling them about the howling part was a good idea. "Wow look at you getting a howl with an alpha" Salty said patting me on the back "Didn't know you had it in you", "Yeah neither did I" I said smiling a little. Well not that that's over with its time to get down to the hard stuff. I took a deep breath "We'll guys, I'm afraid I got some bad news" I started "What kind of bad news?" Shakey asked, they all had full attention on me now. "Well, since Kate is now getting married I have decided to runaway and become a lone wolf."

"What?!" They all said "You're joking right?" Mooch asked "I'm afraid not" I said "I just can't stay here and watch her be with another wolf, it'll just be like a needle stabbing my heart all the time. And yes I know it may seem crazy but I will be better off somewhere else to get my mind off her." There was a short silence after that before Salty spoke up "Well I'll sure miss you man, but I understand and I'd rather see you happy and not miserable." Shakey and Mooch nodded in agreement. 'Well that wasn't too bad' I thought "I'm glad you understand" I said smiling "I will miss you guys too" "Just promise you'll come back in visit us some time" Shakey said "I will" I said.

We all shook paws and said our goodbyes before I got up and began to make my way to the last wolf I need to say goodbye to, Kate. I was making my way up from the valley when I heard some flapping above my head, I looked up to see that it was Marcel and Paddy 'Ah just the birds I need to talk to' "Why hello Mr. Wolf" Marcel said "Marcel, Paddy! Good to see you again" I said watching as the landed on a near by low hanging branch, "What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be working on that game you two play?"

"Well we we're, but we decided to see how things are going with you since you both got back." Paddy said "Yes uhh, so where your lady friend?" Marcel asked

"Oh she's at her den, getting ready for her wedding" I said plainly, just thinking about it made me feel worse inside. "Oh-ho-ho I see you finally told her how you felt eh?" He said,

"Well... Not exactly, you see I was close to telling her but she ran off before I had the chance." I said looking down at my paws "Oh my, wait if she's not marrying you then who?" Paddy asked "It turns out she didn't tell me that she was in a rush to get home to stop a war between our pack and a neighboring one. And to stop that war she has to force marry a wolf from the other pack." I said while pushing a pebble with my paw in the dirt.

"Ouch, you must not be doing so well then" Marcel said "Yeah which is why I've decided to become a lone wolf and try to get over her" I said. "Hmm, well we're still in Jasper for a few more days and there should be another train coming by today if you wish to leave very soon." He said "All I have to do is say my goodbyes to her then I can leave before the wedding starts." I said "Alright we'll be around the area so come find us when your done" He said "Well Marcel we could go check in with his lady friend too, and see how she is before he comes to tell her about what he's doing." Paddy suggested.

"Good idea, uh Humphrey is it?" Marcel asked me "Yes?" I said "Where can we find Kate?" He asked "Big den overlooking the valley you can't miss it" I said pointing up the valley towards where the den area was. "Ah thank you, see you later" He said before him and Paddy took off to the sky's

'Well I guess I should linger a little bit before going to see her', I decided to go to the river that used to separate our pack and the East. This would be great since this would give me some time to think of what to exactly say to her. The sun was still shining bright up above as I made my way under the trees and through the bushes, along the way I just admired the world around me. My mind was blank which was odd, I had been in nothing but thought since we got home just thinking about what to do now that the one I only loved was taken and gone. I guess my mind was just at peace before the storm of confronting Kate that was going to happen. When I arrived at the river all was quiet, not a single wolf was there using the water to cool off. 'Good I can have some quiet to think'. I sat on the soft sand that lined the river bank and just starred at the passing water.

'Alright, well where to begin...' My mind was still drawing a blank as I thought of how exactly I should tell her without being harsh. That was important, last thing I need was to be harsh about what happened and make her upset. Even though she hurt me I still had respect for her, and also it was her wedding day so ruining the mood would also be bad. 'Alright so I guess if I can just be upfront about it then I can make it quick before I end up crying in front of her.' That was another thing I didn't want to do, being upset about me leaving would hint that I had feelings for her. If I did tell her that I had feelings for her it might not go so well since she's technically with someone else. Then again just the idea that I'm leaving at the same time she's getting married makes that obvious as well, I guess I'll just have to go with it.

'So far the idea is to be upfront and make up a lie as to why I'm leaving' I clarified to myself in my head, I hated lying to her but it had to be done. I had been sitting on the river bank for over thirty minutes now "It's time to get this over with" I said to myself getting up and resuming my heading to the head alpha den. Along the way I noticed a few flowers growing beside the bushes, and one of them was a dark pink much like the one she wore at the moonlight howl before we were taken away. Not sure why but I stopped and picked one of them off its stem and hid it in my mane so that I could give it to her as a last thing before I left. Once I arrived to the den area I didn't see any other wolves around 'They must be all down at the wedding' I thought to myself 'Good that means I can easily slip away unnoticed after I'm done saying goodbye to Kate.'

I was soon making my way up the small slope that lead up into Winston's and Eve's den. My heart began to race before I decided to stop just before the corner and try to make myself seem calm and normal. I then could faintly hear voices that sounded like Marcel and Paddy "Well we came to see that you made it back" I heard Paddy say before Marcel said "And what do we find? heh heh. Walla, your getting married" though he said it kind of oddly like he still couldn't believe what had happened.

**A/N: I would suggest listening to a song called "My Own Way" by Honor Society since it fits in well with this part of the story.**

"Umm, yeah I'm getting married, who told you?" I heard Kate ask them. I decided this was a good time to start. "I did" I said walking up to the den entrance, her gaze went from Marcel and Paddy to me. "Humphrey" She said looking at me, she was sitting on the over hang in front of the den with the birds in front of her

"We'll we should be going" Paddy said, "Yes, Yes" Marcel said before they both took off. I knew they wouldn't go far since they were surely waiting for me to finish talking with Kate. Time seemed to slow as I walked up to her, I noticed that she looked at the ground in front of her looking at me once or twice. She seemed to be upset already, but why? Did Marcel and Paddy already tell her? I decided to ease the situation and give her the flower I picked earlier, "Oh, excuse me just a flea" I said pretending to scratch my mane as if I did have one but I was really just getting the flower.

"Here's a little something for your big day" I said with the flower in my mouth as I proceeded to place it in her fur above her ear. "Thank you" She said with a soft smile as I pulled my head back, I realized it was a good time to start the real reason I came to talk to her.

"I just wanted to say goodbye" I looked into her eyes as I said it "Goodbye?" She said with a confused look, 'Okay looks like they didn't tell her' I thought to myself. "Yeah" I continued before sitting in front of her "I've been thinking of doing a little traveling you know, seeing where the train takes me" I looked at her and she had a blank expression on her face "And maybe I'll visit our friends the bears, grrrr. Our old buddy's and see how their doing, I'll tell them you said hi" I said with a little laugh at the end which she also laughed at as well.

I got back up on my paws and she did the same before she asked "But wait, your leaving Jasper?" "Yeah, it's a lone wolf thing" I said slowly, I could now feel myself slipping and starting to show outside what I was feeling inside, sadness. Sad that I was losing a good friend and someone I loved and yet had no chances with. I remained looking at her and she also seem to be a little upset about me leaving "Well I know Humphrey the fun loving omega, not Humphrey the lone wolf." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice. She was right, I definitely wasn't a lone wolf type but I guess there's a start for everything.

"So..." I started "I'll just be a fun loving lone wolf" I turned and walked away slowly but as I did I could hear her say faintly "I don't doubt that" I just continued to walk away with my head down. Inside I felt close to being in tears, it was over, all chances of being with her gone. Lost to a forced marriage to unite the packs because of a selfish pack leader. And I would just have to get over it and live the rest of my life getting over her and perhaps finding another love to fix the pain. I found Marcel and Paddy not too far from the den "Alright, let's go" I said sadly with my head low still, passing them as I heard them follow behind me. "You know Mr. Humphrey, can I just say one thing?" Paddy said walking beside me

"Of course, what is it?" I asked looking at him "Well I'm not saying your idea of running away is bad but, sometimes running from your problems doesn't solve anything." He said "I agree to that statement but if she has any feelings for me she would have at least say something while I was telling her I was leaving for good." I said "Yeah I guess your right" He said plainly

_WOOOOOOO_

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**A/N: Don't worry it's not over yet, your only half way done reading this story believe it or not, I just thought it was a better idea to split this 8k chunk of words into two parts. Part two will be uploaded on Sunday (Tomorrow). See ya then! Oh and feel free to review I appreciate it when you do.**


	2. Chapter 2

_WOOOOOOO_

The sudden sound of the trains whistle echoed through the forest around us "I would say we better get a move on so you don't miss that train" Marcel said taking off followed by Paddy "Alright" was all I said as I started to run towards the sound of the train. Soon I could see the tracks and noticed the train gaining on me. "Do you think I can make it?" I called out above me to the birds

"Yes sir!" Paddy called out "and just as you hit the tracks you should see an open train car!" "We'll avoid truck stops, bears and that hideous dessert, what is it called?" Marcel said "Cupcakes sir" Paddy quickly answered "Ah yes cupcakes, yick" He finished I couldn't help but smile at that, "I will, thanks guys" I said slowly before changing direction to intersect with that train. I kept up my pace and looked at the open boxcar ever so often to make sure I wouldn't miss my jump. I noticed that the tracks curved just up ahead giving me a good shot for a straight jump inside, but then something caught my mind. 'That boxcar it looks so familiar...' Then it hit me, that was the same boxcar Kate and I were in just the night before. A sudden flash of memory of the night we howled passed through my mind and I saw us both howling in the boxcar just like that very night.

Time began to slow yet again as I watched the faint image of us pass by 'What am I doing?' My mind echoed 'Paddy was right, I shouldn't be running away' I quickly changed my direction and ran along side the train in the opposite direction letting it pass by. Once it did I proceeded to cross the tracks still continuing my sprint but this time towards the valley. 'I can't just leave all that I've loved behind, I'm not that kind of guy just like she told me.' My mind said as I flew by tree after tree. "Got to stop that wedding" I said to myself, never have I ran this fast in my life, I was going to tell Kate how I felt even if it kills me. I felt no more sadness just determination, I felt stupid doing this at the same time though.

Here I was leaving Jasper and now I'm running back towards it just to tell Kate how I felt, And if she didn't feel the same way then oh well at least I can say I tried. I began to see the valley below and came skidding to a stop at the rim of it on my paws but at the same time a tan blur passed right in front of me, was I seeing things? My thoughts were answered when I heard a gasp "Humphrey!" I heard a wolf yell to me, I looked to my right and saw Kate standing right there near me looking right at me. "Kate!" I called back to her as I joined by her side, I noticed that she was looking down to the valley so I looked to and what I saw was unbelievable. There was Winston and Tony caught running in front of a caribou stamped, "We got to help them" I heard her say. I quickly looked around looking for something to get down there fast, and then I saw an old price of tree bark that would make a perfect log sled. "Look" I said pointing to the piece of bark, "Good thinking" She said "Come on". I followed her to the bark and we ripped it off the stump of the tree to place it flat on the ground.

"Get in I'll steer it" I said hopping in followed by her as she sat in front of me on the log, I gave us a strong push to get us started down the slope. I couldn't believe that once again Kate and I were working as a team. It didn't take long before we were flying at full speed passing many trees and sharp rocks "Roll left" I called out to Kate as we both steered the sled to the left narrowly missing a large tree. "Roll right" I called again as we turned and avoided yet another tree "Wow your getting good at this" I complimented, "I had a good teacher" She said looking at me with a smile before resuming looking ahead of us.

"There too far ahead" She said looking at where Winston and Tony were "We'll never make it" she finished. I on the other hand noticed a rock overhang ahead and it looked like a suitable ramp "Hold on" I said as I turned the sled to the right and hit the ramp. I was surprised that the log didn't snap in half at the force we hit it at, the next thing I knew was we were both up in the air in the sled above the fleeing pack leaders. Kate and I braced ourselves for the hard landing to come but it didn't help much since when we hit the ground it sent us somersaulting into the air before we both landed once again on the ground a good distance from the sled. I quickly shook my head to clear my vision and saw that Winston and Tony were both ducked under what was once the sled. And it seemed to work well as protection since the caribou just jumped right over it, but I knew Kate and I wouldn't be alive much longer in the open. We both laughed and looked at each other as we made our way to the safety of the log sled "World adventurers" I said looking at her with a smile which she returned.

"I told you we make a good team" She said "Did you say that? I thought I said that" I said before I did a low jump to under the log. I expected to see Kate right by my side but what I heard next was a sound I never wanted to hear in my life

_CRACK_

I heard Kate let out a cry of pain as I looked in horror to see her body fall to the ground motionless out in the middle of the stamped. "KATE!" I yelled, without even thinking I jumped from the safety of the log out into the storm of flying hooves that could kill with one hit. I landed right above her lying body using mine as a shield to protect her from being trampled and from any other blows that might do worse damage. I knew the possible consequences of my actions for jumping out and protecting her could mean losing my life but if Kate was in danger I would risk my life just to save her. I let out a few howls of pain as I felt the painful sting of hard hooves hitting me right in the back, it was almost enough to make me collapse on top of her but I just took the pain and held my ground. There was no way I would let Kate get hurt any further, and much to my hope the last of the stamped finally passed leaving just me, Kate, Winston and Tony. Breathing heavily I got off of Kate and sat by her side looking down at her body that was still lying motionless on the hard ground.

From that moment I feared the most, she could already be dead, or was she just knocked unconscious from the blow? "Kate?" I said half expecting her to just wake up like nothing ever happened but it never came, not even a slight movement. "Kate?" I called again looking at her still, my voice had sadness in it now "Please Kate you can't do this..." I said laying down right up next to her. I pushed my nose up against her neck a few times to see if the movement would wake her but that too failed since all it did was move her head slightly. I sat back up and from that moment I knew she had to be gone, I couldn't hear any breathing when I got close to her. I could feel tears trying for push their way through as I went back down and embraced her in a hug.

"I love you..." I said very quietly, but I knew Winston and Tony could hear me. I once again sat back up and howled, a howl full of sorrow and emotion, I was a little unsure she could be gone but from what I heard growing up that it didn't take much for a caribou's blow to be lethal. So as much as it hurt to think my one and only true love was now gone forever, this felt like a nightmare ever since she and I got home. I have been expecting for me to wake up in the train by her side like none of it ever happened but this was as real of a reality as it could get. I still continued to howl but I was soon joined slowly by every wolf in the packs as we all howled a sad song to the loss of a good alpha and great friend/love of mine. I was even surprised to hear Tony join in on the howl as well considering he was the one that caused all this. This life changing event for myself, I didn't hate him though, I understood that he was just trying to do the best he can do for his pack.

Yet a better idea would be to let a couple unite the packs through love not forced on. I was nearing the end of my howl when suddenly I heard a groan, I stopped howling and looked down to see that Kate's eyes were open. My heart was over filled with relief that she wasn't dead after all, but was I dreaming?

"Kate" I said looking at her as she got up a little and looked right at me "Humphrey?" She asked in a quite voice giving me a soft smile "I thought I lost you" I said. My thoughts about this all being a dream were changed when she shook her head no. I had never noticed that the rest of the pack was around us though I did hear them howl. They must of had all come up after the stampede passed when I was too busy fearing that Kate had passed. I watched as Kate got up more and looked around us, noticing the entire pack in a circle around us. "Is everyone starring at us?" She asked looking back at me

I it was my turn to look around and sure enough they were "Well not every- oh wait, yeah now they are" I said before looking back at her with a smile. I couldn't hide it since I was overjoyed that she was perfectly fine and that I could truly tell her face to face how I really felt about her, though I'm sure she could already tell. "Aww darn" She started, I had to admit her voice sounded pretty cute when she said that "cause I wanted to tell you something"

My heart began to race 'Could it be? Was she going to say that she loved me?' My thoughts said as she sat up and leaned up to my ear so that no one else could hear around us. "Humphrey, I just wanted to say that I love you. It took me some time to notice this and it almost cost me losing you, but now I am one hundred percent sure." She whispered. I couldn't help but laugh a little in disbelief, the girl of my dreams just said that she loved me and it was enough to make me want to do back flips in victory. "Really?" I asked with a huge smile on my face, I wanted to be certain that what I just heard was right. "Uh-huh" She said quietly retuning the smile

I knew it was now my turn to tell her how I felt so I leaned up to her ear now and whispered the following. "You don't know how overjoyed I am to hear that you love me. I love you too, always had ever since I got to know you well as pups. And I got a question, will you marry me?" I could hear her giggle quietly as I said this and gasp when I asked her the question. "Yes, of course I will marry you Humphrey" She said before we shared a kiss, our first real kiss. Not just some accidental touch of the nose, which never counted.

I savored the moment, here I was kissing the girl of my dreams who I was now engaged to as if nothing bad had ever happened. I wasn't running away from the problem and it ended up turning to the better by staying. And I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon now that I had a soon to be mate. It's amazing how things can go from feeling like your life is at an all time low to feeling like you're in a dream come true. We ended our kiss and just sat staring at each other knowing that both of our dreams had come true after so long. I looked around us and noticed that all the pack was howling in joy not just for us but also for Garth and Lilly since I noticed that they were talking together.

"I think I found a suitable couple to unite the two packs" I said nodding my head towards the other couple "Yeah I agree, I'm so happy for my sister I know she'll be happy with him" Kate said looking over at them before looking back at me "And I'm happy for us too" She said putting her paw on mine "I am too" I said smiling looking back into her eyes, they gave off a glow in the sunlight. Our silence was interrupted when we heard Marcel and Paddy talking, we turned and say them talking to Winston and Tony while holding their wooden stick they used to play their game. "You think their telling your dad and Tony about that golf game they play?" I asked her with a laugh. She laughed as well "Yeah I'm sure they are" She said

I watched as Marcel placed a small round pebble on what was once our log sled "Fore!" He yelled before taking a swing that launched the ball in the air out into the valley. "I can see it now, your dad hitting those rocks straight at caribou's heads" I joked making Kate laugh. "Oh that was a good one" She said leaning up against me.

It was now late afternoon and the rest of the pack was now heading back to the den area to most likely rest after today's events. "Well I don't know about you but I sure am tired" I said getting up "Yeah I am too" She said "How about we join the others and take a nap back at the dens?" I asked "Sounds like a good plan to me" She said with a smile. We both got up and followed the rest of the pack as they walked up the valley slope. Kate and I were silent most of the way just walking side by side enjoying each others company. In my mind I was still absorbing everything that had happened in the past hours, I went from saying my goodbyes to my friends and Kate since I was going to run away, to log sledding down a hill with her and almost losing her in a stampede. And now here I was, engaged to a girl that was WAY out of my league and happy. No longer wishing to be a lone wolf and run away from this place I have called home for most of my life. I'm just glad that I listened to Paddy's advice at the most critical moment as I was running to that train, perhaps it was just fate telling me that running away was not the good option. Either way I owed him a thank you for telling that to me cause by now I would be many many miles away from Jasper and Winston and Tony could have been dead, but gladly that didn't happened.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Kate "Humphrey I'm sorry" She blurted out, I was confused by this "Sorry? What are you sorry about?" I asked "For not telling you the truth as to why I needed to get home so quickly" She said "For making you feel upset and maybe even used, and for making you almost runaway. You have no idea how hard it was for me to sit there and listen to you tell me that you were going to runaway. And finally I am sorry for taking so long to realize that I loved you I always had the feeling whenever I was around you and only now did I come to understand that it was love." I was taken aback by this, she was apologizing for the pain she had caused me but that pain was now all just a far away memory. "Thank you Kate, but it's nothing to sorry about, I understand that you just focused on responsibility at the time and perhaps I was overreacting. But it doesn't matter now, we are now together as a couple and everything that has happened these past few days are all just in the past." I said looking at her

"I'm glad that it's in the past too" She said with a smile "Now we can just make the most of our time in the present together." "Agreed" I said. We kept walking and we were almost to the den area when I decided to ask her a question that was on my mind ever since I aborted running away. "So, what exactly happened at the wedding?" I asked "Well Garth and I did all of the things you needed to do to become mates but one thing, our noses almost touched when I suddenly realized that what I was doing was wrong. I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life with someone I didn't love so I did us both a favor and backed down from the kiss. They started to ask why I couldn't marry him and I said because I was already in love with you, which enraged Tony and told his pack to take the valley. The fighting is what caused the stamped which caused everyone to run up the valley sides to where I shockingly found you right there at the top. I'm sure the rest you can put together." She said "Wow I'm just glad the stamped didn't kill anyone, especially you" I said

By the time I said that we were already in the den area, I lead her in the direction of my den since I'm sure she would of rather napped there then in her parents den. We continued our conversation as we came up to my den, "I guess I should ask you the same question, what caused you to change you mind?" Kate asked. "After I had left from your parents den I met up with Marcel and Paddy who arranged for me to jump on a train out of here. I was running straight towards that open boxcar when I realized it was the same car we howled in, I also remembered that very night and what Paddy told me when I was heading to the train. He said that running from your problems sometimes doesn't help the situation, I came to and realized that I should at least tell you how I felt and see if you had those same feelings. So I left the train and ran straight to the valley where I found you." I said "It's a decision I'm glad I made" "Maybe even fate, like we were meant to be" She said "Maybe that too" I said

We walked into my den and I sat in the back while Kate laid near me, "Well we better get some rest before the moonlight howl tonight" She said with a yawn, She was right and I had forgotten to was the full moon tonight. "Yeah I'll join you, I forgot that was tonight" I said laying near her side. I closed my eyes and was soon sound asleep, excited that I would get to howl with my girl once again later tonight.

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_Epilogue_

Thing's were looking up for my life, it has been a few months since the events that happened after Kate and I got home from our Idaho adventure. We were now married and as happy as ever, the same went for Lilly and Garth who were now training to be Winston's and Eve's replacement leaders. I myself have been accepted into Kate's family greatly, I now considered her parents to be the ones like I never had as a pup before I can to Jasper long ago. Kate was also teaching me how to hunt so that one day we could start a family together, it'll be awhile until I'm ready to be a father and I know she feels the same way. So it will just be the two of us for some more time. I still look back at the days after we got back from Idaho and think 'Wow I'm one damn lucky wolf' I got a beautiful mate that I loved for her personality and not just for her looks and she felt the same way back. I look forward to spending the rest of my days with her.

THE END

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**A/N: Well there you have it! Just over 8,000 words and one for the most detailed short stories I have ever written. I hope you enjoyed reading this story and I greatly appreciate any feedback on what you thought of it via review or PM. If there were any mess ups I missed still like forgetting some of the movie lines (I wrote all this without even watching the movie once to remember the lines) then I don't want to hear it :P. I do have an idea for another short A&O story like this, but as of right now my hands hurt! Anyway perhaps I'll see you around in whatever it is I'll write next, have a good day.**

**ChriZ signing off!**


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